ORLANDO, Fla. _ For the first time in over 50 years, a rainbow snake was spotted in Marion County, wildlife experts said Wednesday.
A woman was hiking in the Ocala National Forest when she came across a Farancia erytrogramma about 4 feet long recently, according to the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.
The nonvenomous, aquatic snake usually hides in watery vegetation. Even herpetologists rarely see this shy species.
The Florida Museum of Natural History confirmed it's the first record of this species in Marion County since 1969.
Biologists believe the snake was on the move due to the recent drawdown of Rodman Reservoir.
Because rainbow snakes often eat eels, they're sometimes known by the nickname "eel moccasin."
They're typically an iridescent blue-black, marked with a bright red stripe down the back and reddish-pink stripes along each side. Their lower bodies have yellow or pink tones leading to the red belly.
Tracey Cauthen is the hiker who saw the snake.
